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[31] Nineteen of the arrested were British, thirty-six were Turkish and the rest of the arrested included people from Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. Football authorities condemned the riots and threatened to expel national football teams from European competition if such events happened again. The eggs were massive and I was chuffed to bits with mine, he says. [36], In August 2000, Arsenal banned thirty-seven people involved in the Copenhagen riot from Arsenal's Highbury stadium. It didnt sit right with me. If someone could have shown me those levels of intimidation, Id have refused to play the game unhesitatingly. No question.. Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_, Leeds players needed protection from police with riot shields before their game against Galatasaray in 2000 (Photo: Steve Mitchell/EMPICS via Getty Images). British fans were outnumbered and chased up side streets. The man named as the prime suspect in the killings, a cafe owner named Ali Umit Demir, was arrested by Turkish police within days and he and three other Turks were later convicted in court. They know what he did for us.. Early relaxation gave way to brutal battle as rivals taunted each other, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Everything was muddled. I respect the Loftuses for fighting, 100 per cent. One of our security lads had to go with the bus to a compound, some sort of a lock-up. "It's just a bit of a rollercoaster ride really but we get by," he said. It is his life and his career, much as the option of Galatasaray was incapable of arising without anyone passing comment. That deal took Kewell back to a stadium where he and Leeds once needed protection with riot shields. Obviously he liked his football too. Amid the fall-out and a world of shock in Leeds, Ridsdale suggested that the second leg at Elland Road would be safer without away fans. [3] Leeds fans had been drinking in bars reportedly taunting local people and Turkish police intervened to stop fights breaking out. Leeds fans had planned to honour the memories of Speight and Loftus this weekend by holding up photos of the two murdered men at the home game with Blackburn Rovers. Forty Leeds fans arrested in the scuffles were released without charge. "They were screaming all sorts of things. The images are so vivid in Peter Ridsdales mind that he can describe every aspect of the hospital where Speight and Loftus were taken after they were attacked. As chairman of Leeds, he told the UEFA official that it would make sense to postpone the first leg of the semi-final which Leeds and Galatasaray were about to play. Association with the tragedy can be difficult. My sympathy was with them. The first the Leeds players heard of the incident in Taksim Square was when phone calls started reaching them in their hotel. Both had numerous other wounds. They had been a couple since their teens. I could see in their faces how much they were raging, Fallows says. Twenty years on from Istanbul: the night when football became murder It takes a certain amount of nerve to put a foot in both camps, which is doubtless why Harry Kewell was able to do so in 2008 when he left Liverpool for the Ali Sami Yen. Harry Kewell is in front of him, carrying a ball and looking bewildered. Harry Kewell - Wikipedia The Turkish side are hated by those at Elland Road after two travelling fans were stabbed to death by Galatasaray supporters prior to the UEFA Cup semi-final in 2000. They carried beer glasses outside, we couldn't stop them, and others followed." The authorities imposed sentences on some of those who had originally escaped justice with Suleyman Gokhan Guven, Ali Baydar and Yilmaz Tutus given ten, six and five years in prison respectively. At the hospital, Ridsdale encountered absolute chaos. On April 5 2000 two Leeds fans, Kevin Speight and Christopher Loftus, were stabbed to death before the 2000 Uefa Cup semi-final first leg against Galatasaray in Taksim Square, Istanbul Our Daz was there and he told me the full story. The friend who arranged their trips abroad organised for them to fly home via Brussels. The Speights were a close family who lived in the Yorkshire village of Farsley, where Kevin Speight was landlord of the Bay Horse pub. Any time I think about what happened, I ask the same question. For players and supporters alike, this has become one of the most fraught and difficult venues in Europe. They didnt care., The Speights were different and left the criminal cases alone. 2023 BBC. Football is sport here and for many Istanbul residents Galatasaray - who won the league last Sunday - is football. Who really cares?. Its funny what sticks in your head, he says. Anyone can read what . After travelling to the Turkish capital to follow the club, Mr Speight and Mr Loftus were attacked with machetes when a row broke out between rival fans. Ridsdale and Leedss operations director, David Spencer, were at a floating restaurant on the Bosphorus when they were phoned to tell them trouble in the centre of Istanbul had resulted in at least two fans being hospitalised. My mum struggled massively with it all and she still does now, George says. BBC News | EUROPE | Turkey still angry over fans' behaviour galatasaray leeds death Ridsdale can visualise it all 21 years on: the lay-out of the hospital, the chaos inside, the panicked confusion. It triggered something and I ran into the ward. Loftus, 35, was a telephone engineer and an easy-going lad. The atmosphere was electric like, scarily electric. You ask them one by one if 20 years have helped them process what happened. He wasnt one of them who tried to cause trouble. It shows all personal information about the players, including age, nationality, contract duration and market value. To this day, it is used as a tribute every time the anniversary comes round. I can only go on what my mum said, but my dad was nothing like that. At the hotel, Phil went up to his room. Four men were arrested and charged with their murders. lisa left eye zodiac sign Search. [10][12] This led to the final being considered "high risk"; 2,000 members of the Danish police were assigned to the game, with assistance from members of British and Turkish police forces. [6] Demir was later found guilty of murder and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, but released in 2004. This year is the 20th anniversary of the mens deaths in Istanbul and many of their relatives carry those events as if they happened yesterday. Grieving Leeds Faces Galatasaray Rematch : It Is a Matter of Life Or Death, Sometimes. [26] There were further clashes at the airport the day after the game. Galatasaray football player Wesley Sneijder has released a commemorative knife set - on the 15th anniversary of the fatal stabbing of two Leeds fans by Turkish supporters. When the Turkish club flew over for the return leg two weeks later, an occasion as venomous and bitter as any Elland Road has hosted, they railed against Ridsdales request that their fans be banned from travelling. For a couple of days afterwards you run on adrenaline, he says. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. They just looked at me like I was stupid.. Staff said many fans were drunk by 10pm, intimidating Turkish families drinking in the lounge. You got paid each month and you did this, Andy says, gesturing as if to push a wad of banknotes into a drawer. A Galatasaray player who endorsed a set of knives as Leeds United paid tribute to fans fatally stabbed before a game against his club has apologised. The routine for Andy and others who went abroad with Leeds was always the same: straight to the hotel, straight into town, straight on the beer. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? 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In May 2002 Demir, who admitted the stabbings, was sentenced to 15 years in prison with four other men imprisoned for three months each. Ill be careful here but I have to say that I felt uncomfortable welcoming Galatasarays delegates to Elland Road. Fri 7 Apr 2000 20.36 EDT. Massive riots Galatasaray - Leeds / Arsenal 2000 - YouTube George is different. Ill hear them saying, Thats Kevin Speights lad and I like that. If you ask me now if I made the right or wrong decision by playing it, I still dont know, Ridsdale says. The Turkish side are hated by those at Elland Road after two travelling fans were stabbed to. But it was common sense. I feel everything: anger, sadness. My mum always says the same: Hed gone out there for the football, nothing else. Then a good mate of mine appeared and said thered been a bit of trouble. We had a coach for the players and a coach for the directors, he says. The police warned a postponement could cause more trouble. I had joked with him and said, At least youll be safe. He gave me a look and said, Or maybe not., The attitude as far as I could see was, Lets intimidate these lads and see what happens. Leeds back then had a lot of kids in their squad. [25] The British fans were later released without charge but were forbidden from returning to Denmark. Thats what they were, kids. Those April nights were as close as Leeds will get to it. The complication here is that football has no right to dictate how people manage a grievance that goes so far beyond standard rivalry. In the case of Loftus brother Andy, he prefers not to make a big deal of his surname for fear of the questions that might follow; the feeling of being always on show. I am happy and I hope everyone else can be too. Menu Chris and Kevin were brutally murdered in Istanbul on the eve of our UEFA Cup semi-final fixture with Galatasaray in 2000. Following the two tragic deaths, local police arrested and charged four Galatasaray supporters with murder. Speight was with a group of Leeds fans attacked by Turkish locals outside a bar by Istanbuls Taksim Square, sustaining a slash wound to his stomach. After a while, Andys eldest brother Phil complained of feeling ill and the two of them decided to go back to their hotel. They knocked back as much Elfe (lager), Jack Daniels and Bacardi as I could pour.". 2000 UEFA Cup semi-final violence - Wikiwand I didnt want to do it either. Leeds and Galatasaray fans clashed in violent scenes in April 2000 at 21:00 in Istanbul's Taksim Square Following the two tragic deaths, local police arrested and charged four Galatasaray. "There's a lot of anger. There is very little about the football which Ridsdale cares to remember and at the Ali Sami Yen, the stadium was so overcrowded that he had Galatasaray fans in front of him literally sat on my feet. The next day, he and Leeds players and coaching staff reached the airport, climbed on a plane and flew home. (Main photo of Kevin Speight with his son George and daughter Holly). The Turkish police didnt give a shit about us. The security guard who was in Turkey with the clubs players and directors is into his 50s and taking it easy after neck surgery. As a Turkish man is found guilty in Istanbul of murdering two Leeds United fans, the BBC gauges the reaction of local people. Loftus had already been pronounced dead and in the melee, hospital staff mistakenly assumed Ridsdale was a relative and took him downstairs to the mortuary. US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Canadian grandma helps police snag phone scammer, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus. The deaths of Kevin Speight and Chris Loftus on the night before Leeds played their Uefa Cup semi-final first leg with Galatasaray - 20 years ago yesterday - represent one of the darkest and. Mr Loftus from a plunging wound to his heart; Mr Speight, a few hours later after receiving a wound the length of his stomach. "Maybe they thought they were being funny but to Turks who do not speak good English, it was very offensive.". Galatasaray wanted me from the start. I genuinely feared for our lives. Galatasaray tragedy will stay with Leeds United and Eirik Bakke forever Every year, the families of Kevin Speight and Chris Loftus place wreathes at the plaque and go together for a drink, to catch up and reflect. I stood there with Eddie Gray, Fallows says. Kewell was quoted after joining Galatasaray as saying that to blame Galatasaray for the tragedy in Istanbul is simply wrong and discriminatory. The death of the two Leeds fans in street fighting in central Istanbul on Wednesday turned Galatasaray's Ali Sami Yen Stadium into an armed camp, with 10,000 police patrolling in and around the . Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight were stabbed during street clashes the night before Leeds played Turkey's Galatasaray in the second leg of the Uefa Cup semi-finals in April 2000. 15:32 EST 23 Mar 2021. But he was not and the atmosphere was initially warmer than normal. At a local police station, at around 4am on April 6, Ridsdale was given a stark message by the UEFA representative who turned up there: play the game, or forfeit it and incur an automatic 3-0 defeat. I didnt want to be standing there telling them what to do and I understood that they didnt want to hear it. Twenty Leeds fans, witnesses to the fight, were interviewed. "Kevin had two young children. I dont know why.. Leeds and Galatasaray have an extremely volatile relationship following the death of two Leeds supporters prior to the UEFA CUp semi-final back in 2000. Several fans offered to foot the bill. I am just trying to come to terms with the fact that I have seen a dead body for the first time in 10 years. I went off the rails, he says. The police did nothing, in fact they were helping them beat us up." It was only when Gray arrived home that his parents asked if he was OK and told him about the many Rangers fans who had died. Squad Galatasaray This page displays a detailed overview of the club's current squad. [42] Arsenal fans also criticised the police, claiming that they had been slow to intervene and were "too soft" on the hooligans. Ali Sami Yen, the stadium was so overcrowded that he had Galatasaray fans in front of him literally sat on my feet. The next day, he and Leeds players and coaching staff reached the airport, climbed on a plane and flew home. [34] The Copenhagen riots followed a long line of similar events involving English football fans, and in June, UEFA's executive committee listed the Heysel Stadium disaster, disorders in Charleroi and Brussels, the killing of the two Leeds fans in Istanbul, and the Copenhagen riots and warned the British government that if there was any more rioting then England would be expelled from Euro 2000. On the 20th anniversary of their deaths, he said: "I suffered quite badly after it happened. One Love was a controlled situation. Galatasaray 2 - 1 Fraport TAV Antalyaspor MORE. He has a busy job as an electrician and a twinkle in his eye. He was seven when Speight died, his sister Holly two. I am not sure if the first few expected fighting but I saw one guy running to a telephone to call his friends after he saw the English. Its completely different. Its a game. Former club legend Harry Kewell previously soured his relationship with Leeds fans after moving to Galatasaray from Liverpool in 2008. Turkish Prime Minister Blent Ecevit also made a call for fans to avoid violence after the riots, stating: Sports should be an initiative for friendship, not for fighting. Leeds fans furious as Alioski's move to Galatasaray nears completion The 2000 UEFA Cup Final Riots, also known as the Battle of Copenhagen,[1] were a series of riots in City Hall Square, Copenhagen, Denmark between fans of English football team Arsenal and Turkish team Galatasaray around the 2000 UEFA Cup Final on 17 May 2000. When the second leg came round, in the dressing room we were trying to say, Come on, lets get stuck into them. But in the back of your mind youre putting football aside. The Galatasaray fans were later attacked from behind by members of British hooligan firms seeking revenge for the Istanbul stabbings. He has never spoken about his memories of Turkey before but, like Andy Loftus, says he wants to reflect 20 years on. Fatih Terim, Galatasaray's coach, had whipped up his side's supporters. Loftus had been stabbed five times and Speight twice. "They were using very bad language," said Abdul Garlad, a manager. I had no idea where we were going or why we were going there, he says. Its that attitude of, They must have gone looking for it. All the stuff about cars being tipped over, us disrespecting their women if youd been there, youd know. I didn't know this and deleted our promotion for the merchandise kitchen item #respect. Can you guess these stars by their unrecognisable FIFA and PES looks? As always you can unsubscribe at any time. The road to justice for the Speight and Loftus families was long and demoralising. Galatasaray player apologises to Leeds fans for knife tweet But the Leeds fans do not see it that way. I prefer to remember that way. George is a regular at Leeds games but until his teens he would wait outside the stadium at the home fixture closest to the April 5 anniversary while a minutes applause played out. Their policing of City Hall Square in the days running up to the final was described as "non-existent" by Dineen. Kewell grew up in Leeds academy and was in the starting line-up for both legs against Galatasaray. It felt to me like the police were trying to frighten us, he says. , updated More than a dozen police watched but initially did not intervene. Leeds will on Saturday afternoon mark 15 years since the deaths of supporters Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight, who were stabbed by a Galatasaray fan in April 2000. With CCTV evidence, four men were indicted for murder within a week, including Ali Umit Demir, at whose flat the police found a knife stained with the blood of both victims. The interview included vague expressions of regret but no apology to Speight and Loftus or their relatives. George has no recollection of his dad leaving for Istanbul or of him saying goodbye. The Turkish. She knows who he was but its not the same.. The away supporters responded with songs about two Leeds fans who were stabbed to death in Istanbul prior to a fixture against Galatasaray in 2000. .